IntroductionGallstone ileus is a rare cause of bowel obstruction and results from the passage of gallstones into the bowel.Case presentationWe present the case of an 83-year-old Caucasian woman who had three episodes of gallstone ileus, each of which was managed with simple enterotomy. This sequence is one of the first reported in the medical literature and may be seen to challenge the traditional surgical approach of enterotomy alone.ConclusionsThe available evidence comparing enterotomy alone with combined enterotomy, cholecystectomy, and fistula closure in the management of gallstone ileus is reviewed. Neither approach is clearly identified as superior, but available series suggest that simple enterotomy may be safer than a combined approach and does not result in a higher rate of recurrent biliary disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.